Humanistic Values and Humanistic Values-Based Practices in Multi-Ethnic Communities for Social Cohesion in Malaysia's People's Housing Programme

Social cohesion remains a critical challenge in Malaysia's increasingly diverse urban communities, particularly within the People's Housing Programme (PPR), where residents from different ethnic and religious backgrounds live in close proximity. While previous studies have primarily emphasised structural, socioeconomic, and policy-related determinants of social cohesion, limited attention has been given to the shared humanistic values that underpin harmonious interethnic relationships. This study aims to identify the core humanistic values and humanistic values-based practices shared among multi-ethnic communities in high-rise PPRs across Peninsular Malaysia. A semi-quantitative approach employing the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was adopted, involving residents' association committee members from the Central, Northern, Eastern, and Southern regions of Peninsular Malaysia. Through structured discussions and consensus-based voting, twelve humanistic values and eleven humanistic values-based practices were identified. The core values include mutual respect, mutual assistance, tolerance, mutual trust, compassion, caring, sincerity, courtesy, honesty, humility, unity, and openness. The corresponding practices include participating in community activities, greeting and visiting one another, providing contributions, strengthening communication networks, respecting others, understanding other religions, and celebrating cultural and religious festivals together. The findings demonstrate that social cohesion is sustained through shared moral principles translated into everyday social behaviour. The study contributes theoretically by distinguishing between humanistic values and value-based practices while providing contextually grounded instruments for assessing value-based social cohesion within Malaysia's multicultural communities.

Humanistic values, Humanistic values-based practices, Social cohesion, Multi-ethnic community, People's Housing Programme (PPR), Nominal Group Technique

1. Ahmad Fakhrurrazi M.Z. (2010). Ru’yah Qur’aniyah li Qiyam al-Nahdah.Tesis Sarjana: University of Jordan. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Ahmad Shukri Abdul Hamid, Najib Ahmad Marzuki, Noor Azizah Ahmad, Mohd Sobhi Ishak, Norliza Mokhtar., (2017). Menelusuri maksud dan dimensi kesepaduan komuniti dalam masyarakat. Institut Sosial Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Azlina Mohd Khir, Hanina H. Hamsan dan Ma’Rof Redzuan (2011, Jun 11). Sistem Nilai Dan Sikap Komuniti Melayu Miskin [Pembentangan kertas kerja]. International Conference on Humanities 2011, Penang. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). 2019. Labour Force Survey Report 2018. Putrajaya. pp. 308 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Bernama. (2016). Larang alatan agama di koridor 'bukan diskriminasi', kata SUK. BERNAMA. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Bernard, P. (1999). Social Cohesion: A Critique. CPRN Discussion Paper No. F09. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Network [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Besar, J. A., Fauzi, R., & Ghazali, A. S. (2015). Analisis geografi pilihan raya di kawasan Parlimen Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur dalam pilihan raya umum 1955-2013. Geografia Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 11(2), 30-42. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Breidahl, K. N., Holtug, N., & Kongshøj, K. (2018). Do shared values promote social cohesion? If so, which? Evidence from Denmark. European Political Science Review, 10(1), 97-118. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Buyuker, B., Jadidi-D'Urso, A., & Filindra, A. (2018). Interethnic Contact and Impact on Attitudes. Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Christopher, M.; Conroy, M.; Blakeley, K.; de Marco, S. Having Burned the Straw Man of Christian Spiritual Leadership, what can We Learnfrom Jesus about Leading Ethically? J. Bus. Ethics 2017, 145, 757–769. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Community Cohesion Review Team (Great Britain), & Cantle, T. (2001). Community cohesion: A report of the independent review team (p. p70). London: Home Office. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Cui, J.; Jo, H.; Velasquez, M.G. Community Religion, Employees, and the Social License to Operate. J. Bus. Ethics 2016, 136, 775–807 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Denison Jayasooria. 2020. Localizing SDGs among B40 neighbourhoods inKlang Valley, Malaysia: Challenges, possibilities, and lessons drawn from the urban grassroots UKM Ethnic Studies Paper Series No. 63. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Lorenz, J.Delhey, K. Boehnke, & K. Unzicker (Eds.), Social cohesion in the western world. What holds societies together: Insights from the Social Cohesion Radar (pp. 93– 109) Cham (CH): Springer International. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Faridah, S. (2018). Kebebasan Beragama Dan Ranah Toleransinya. Lex Scientia Law Review, 2(2), 199-214. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Faten, N. M. F. (2019). Ethnic profiling on social entrepreneurship among B40 urban women at Program Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin (PPRT) residential areas in Klang Valley (Master's thesis, Kuala Lumpur: Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, 2019). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Granovetter, M. S. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American journal of sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Hamidi, I., Hassan, K., & Zakaria, M. N. (2016). Kesederhanaan Ke Arah Perpaduan Kaum Di Malaysia. Journal of Techno Social, 8(2). Retrieved from [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. https://publisher.uthm.edu.my/ojs/index.php/JTS/article/view/1524 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Hasim, m. S. (1986). Pengaliran berita antarabangsa: satu kajian terhadap laporan kejadian 13 mei, 1969 oleh akhbar barat. Akademika, 28(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Hassan Jaudah. (2004). Min Akhlak al-Mukminin. Al-Qaherah: Dar al-Tauzi wa al-Nasyr al-Islamiyyah. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Heshmati, A., Maasoumi, E., & Wan, G. (2015). Poverty reduction policies and practices in developing Asia (p. 314). Springer Nature. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Hofstede, G. (2013). Geert hofstede. National cultural dimensions, 2-7. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Holdsworth, L., & Hartman, Y. A. (2009). Indicators of community cohesion in an Australian country town. Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 2, 76-97. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Ibrahim, F. Sarnon, N. Alavi, K. Mohamad, M.S. Akhir, N. & Nen, S. (2012). Memperkasakan Pengetahuan Agama Dalam Kalangan Remaja Bermasalah Tingkah Laku: Ke Arah Pembentukan Akhlak Remaja Sejahtera. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. Volume 7, Number 1, 084-093, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Jayasooria, D. (2016). Sustainable development goals and social work: opportunities and challenges for social work practice in Malaysia. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1(1), 19-29. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Junaidi, A. B., Ali, M., WC, V. Y., Lyndon, N., & Ali, M. N. S. (2018). Impak Sosioekonomi dan Politik Program Perumahan Rakyat Lembah Subang, Selangor (The Socio-economic and Polical Impact of Peoples’ Housing Programme in Lembah Subang, Selangor). Akademika, 88(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Kamble, S. V., Watson, P. J., Marigoudar, S., & Chen, Z. (2014). Attitude towards Hinduism, religious orientations, and psychological adjustment in India. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 17(2), 161-172. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Kartini, R. O., Indrawadi, J., & Isnarmi, I. (2019). Pembinaan Sikap Toleransi Beragama Siswa. Journal of Civic Education, 2(1), 23-29. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Kementerian Perpaduan Negara (2021). Dasar Perpaduan Negara dan Rangka Tindakan (Blueprint) Perpaduan Negara 2021-2030. Kementerian Perpaduan Negara, Putrajaya. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan (2019) Dasar Komuniti Negara. Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, Putrajaya. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan, (2018). Laporan akhir kajian kesejahteraan komuniti PPR seluruh negara. Putrajaya. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970). Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and psychological measurement, 30(3), 607-610. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Kumar, B.N. (2019, April 17). Penduduk minta k'jaan beri tanah dulu sebelum roboh kuil. Malaysiakini. Atas talian dari https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/472618 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Marzudi, M. Y., Nasir, N. Y. M., & Samsudin, N. H. (2020). Impak Prejudis dan Jarak Sosial Terhadap Komunikasi Antara Etnik di Pangsapuri Seksyen 2 Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 36(4). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Mohd Nasir, S., Ibrahim, F., Nen, S., Sarnon, N., Subhi, N., Shaari, A. H., & Ab Rahman, Z. (2018). Keselamatan persekitaran perumahan dalam kalangan remaja di kawasan Program Perumahan Rakyat PPR) (Security of housing environment among adolescence living in low cost housing area). Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 14(4). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Mokhtar, A.Z (2019, MEI 21). Surau Al-Makmur PPR Sri Pantai dibaling botol arak. Berita Harian Atas talian darihttps://www.bharian.com.my/berita,/kes/2019/05/566212/surau-al-makmur-ppr-sri-pantai-dibaling-botol-arak [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Nowack, D., & Schoderer, S. (2020). The role of values for social cohesion: Theoretical explication and empirical exploration. GermanDevelopment Institute, Discussion Paper, 6. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International journal of qualitative methods, 16(1), 1609406917733847. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Ponizovskiy, V, Arant, R, Larsen, M, Boehnke, K. (2020). Sticking to common values: Neighbourhood social cohesion moderates the effect of value congruence on life satisfaction. J Community Appl Soc Psychol. 30: 530– 546. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2457 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Rohana, N. A. M., Rameli, M. F. P., Nordin, R., & Hashim, S. N. I. (2017). Kepelbagaian Dan Kesepaduan Etnik Di Malaysia Menurut Islam. Sains Insani, 2(2), 88-97. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Sack, B. C. (2017). Regime change and the convergence of democratic value orientations through socialization. Evidence from reunited Germany. Democratization, 24(3), 444-462. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Sandberg, F. (2016). How age affects survey interaction: The case of intelligence studies. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Saripah, O. (2018). Impak insentif ekonomi terhadap golongan berpendapatan rendah Program Perumahan Rakyat, Kuala Lumpur (The implications of economic incentives toward low income peoples at People Housing Project, Kuala Lumpur). Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 14(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1), 2307-0919. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Sheehy, B. (2015) Defining CSR: Problems and Solutions. J. Bus. Ethics, 131, 625–648 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Silvia, R., & Chris, A. (2020). Fostering Religious Moderation’s Perception in the 4.0 Era: Citizenship Education Challenge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Stone, W., & Hughes, J. (2002). The Nature and distribution of social capital: Initial findings of the Families, Social Capital & Citizenship survey (2001). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Syukri Ahmad. (1998). Agama dan Masyarakat. Dlm. Pengenalan Kepada Sains Sosial. Kuala Lumpur: Utusan Publications & Distributors. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Szromek, A. R. (2020). The Importance of Spiritual Values in the Process of Managerial Decision-Making in the Enterprise. Sustainability, 12(13), 5423. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Tan, B. P., Naidu, N. B. M., & Jamil, Z. (2018). Moral values and good citizens in a multi-ethnic society: A content analysis of moral education textbooks in Malaysia. The Journal of Social Studies Research, 42(2), 119-134. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

52. United Nation Children Funds. (2020). Family on the edge. Kuala Lumpur [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

53. Zaidin, M. M., Yusoff, K., Sulaiman, A. A., Ismail, D., Omar, L., Ismail, M. Z., & Bakar,M. A. (2015). Nursi’s unity model and its importance in the context of racial unity in Malaysia. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(29) [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• The Dynamic of Religious Pluralism and Cultural Identity in Rongmei Naga (Kabui) Society
• Effects of Social-Economic Empowerment of Teenage Mothers and Nurture Care. A Case of Kimbilio Hope Centre, Machakos, Kenya
• Gendering Caste and Casteing Gender: A Study of Social Sickness in Uma Chakravarti’s Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens
• Counselling as Social Work for Women Empowerment in Akwa Ibom State: A Case Study of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Implications for Counsellors
• Motherhood: Inclusion and Containment, A Case Study